Signal valve



F. N. KELSEY Nov. 24; 193

S IGNAL VALVE Filed Nov.

"-INVENTOR Han]: N Kelsey BY &

ATTORNEY Patented Nov. 24, 19 31 FRANK N. KELSEY,

a: (g mme time li pse; nev it'i 'zfiee 'zgsegial N e-231,531.

This invention relates to asignal valve a type designed to 'bef'atta'ched to'the valve head of a motorvehicle tire on the like, that willsound an alarm-when theair inth tire exceeds a predetermined pressure;

It is 'the object 'f this invention, among other things, to provide inafdevice of 'this character simple andeificien't'means for reducing theair pressure at the point of intake,

to provide ineans to relieve the release valve 1 from the impact oftheair' that passes the re: ducing head at each stroke of the air pump,to produce a leak valve that willibe'both sensl tive and active and. W1P 3 for 1 l passage of air in full volume instead of ft, gradual, slow:passageiofi air therethrough, and in these and other ways produce 1 af'signal valve which will combine simpliei'tmicornpactness, economyiniconstruetion, and 'effi cieney in operation,v F 1; Theimprovementsin" the det ails' and, arrangelnent of parts will beapparent fi'onr an inspection of the accompanying drawings, in'connection withthe descr ption here nafter) contalned, whereln apreferred; embodiment parts in section being teken line oiiFigure'B; V

Figure 5 is a p1anv1ew and valve; t I Figure 6 is a side elevation ofthe red "'ng head, bushingand adjacent parts and Figure 7 is an end Viewthereof; ,-1 .4 Referring now to the cl raiwinhslflwherein like numeralsof reference desigiii'ate like parts in theseveral figures:. 10"is thevalve body having a chamberll therein, within which is threaded thevalve plug 13 h ving'two opposit-ely disposed, open-endedslots 14through the walls thereof. 'These'slot s', in addition to "the usehereinafter describedfpi ovide a con:

"Threaded. withiiifthe bodv j 10} is at pring cylinder 26'l'1avinganopening27through the Y Figure 4 is anotherelevation thereof, e lIiQil'devicefand so- 11nd an alarm,

is a chamber- 38 therebetweenlI or HAVENQCONNECTICUT}ASS1GN'0ROFONE-HALF 'ro; AUL swore, on:crimson; CONNECTICUT n a venient means forthreadingtheplug131mb V the hreaded walls of the'chamber 11. The;

lowere'nd of this plugin'ay be seated aga inst awasher lo-if desired, iSlidably mounted within the boreof the the washer 15.. This velve seat19 is preferabl'y m'ade' of material'harder than thatof the against aconical valve seat"19' con'nected with va1ve16 so that the 'press'ureupon"the valve lfi'vc'euses the same tobeprojeeted oiitwardly,thiisinsuring-an air tight seat. I Fixed in the aXiaI'reQeQsQO'intheplug li-l v is a stop spring 21' having'aninwarely turned stopfinger. 22 at its flupp'erend which projects intotheslotxl7'fvialvesten1162 orlin any convenient man'nergshead thereof, between whichand a shoulder the head-'-of the spring cylinderis 'a 'sle'eve 30,"theinside diameter of; which is substantialvalvefbodylO indieates themaiziinurn pres-' sure desired in the tube, this-beingthe p'res- ,sureat. which the air .will escapefron the j The'fsleve '30proje ct'sabovethe endof'the spr'ing cvlinder 26 and terminatesv in: the knurledhead 33, so as to provide convenient ill meansfoi'unanual rotationiWithin this 's'lee've,near the end'thereofiis a plate 34 having anopening-35 therein coincident with the opening 27 but of smaller'diameter. A Closs 7o Mountedin the slot 17 upon thepintle23is a;trigge'r24, whichis held infits outer posiz tiorrby a snring25', which issecuredto the r upon the' plu'g28' a; sprin;q 2 9. SeCuIfed to j l a a a "lyrthe same lastheflouts'ide .diaineter ofthefup- K per portion of thevalve" body 10, and; the lower end 31 of which, when inre gister withthe graduations 32 upon the eXterioro fQthe "ingthe o'uteren'd of-thesleeve is an inverted e'up -36 "having an" opening 37 through" thehadPthereof. I The arranzement of the inverted cup 36 and-platel34'issuch thatthere p plug 13, is the release valve 16 that 'is' secured I iso The head of the spring plug 28 is provided with a conical face 39,which enters a corresponding conical recess in the end of the plug 7 1to' the valve body'10 but it may be made'in 1 teg'ral therewith ifdesired; A- port 44 connects the'air port 42 with the. chamber. 11 andpasses through the wallsfof" the valve body 41 ,[valvebody 10 andwasher;

,18, thus centering these plug i l lati o each other. v V

v 1 fAt-the lower end of the Valve body is an auxiliary valve body 41having an airport 42 therethrough and threadably secured there 4 Iin'isahu'sh1ng43." This'au'xiliary valve'body is shown herein as beingpermanently secured 1- The numeral 45 designates .a reducing head 7which has a stem46 upontone sidethereof,

another stem .47 upon theopposite sidethere of which terminates in thecap 48; y v

The end of the bushing 43 is provided with inf plurality ot' notches 49which performthe double function of admitting air into the chamber ofthbushing and providing means fore-attachment ota wrench towrotatethebushing." V i ,In ,thelcap i are the oppositelydis notches 50,-fwhichalso serve substantial v'thea' same double'function asthelnotches 49..1When a wrench is applied to withdraw the bush ,ing 43;,the notches49=and-50are brought into I 1 (register witheachother tdfacilitate theposition'ing of the wrench.

The stem 46 is preferably provided withia guide pin 51 that {willsupport and maintain I the, stem substantiallyconcentric with thefportft42, It also forms an abutment for'the spring 59. Other convenientmeans may be I provided and-utilized to perform the function 55*Theengagement of theiiunderside of the cap, 48 {with the' end 10f thebushing 43 limits the movement of the reducing .headin one direction,atwhich time there is canopen space f between the exterior of the'conic'alportion oi' thezreducing head and the the bushin'gf43; sWhen'not in use conical bore in ted thereon.

{The numerals 53idesignate the connected with] the tire, which abuts atits inner-f'end-egainst the washer',.54.} Mydevice s eonnectedjto. thevalve head the'nut 5l5' tliat'is rotatably mo 11110411 the auxiliary wvalve body41, When so assembled the end of the stem 146 forms anextensioniof the valve I V stem 56 within the valve head 53. 'v

The cross sectional area of the op en spac zb'etween the conical portionofthe reducing head 45 and the conical bore'57 is; substantiallyithesame as the area of the portion of V the valvewithinzthe valve. head'53. p

'Asmy device is 'beingthreaded onto thc pf; this guidepin withoutimpairing .theop- ..-era-tion;of the parts.

the end offth'e auxiliary v,valvebody 41is protected by a cap.52thr'e'ad-g tire valve head, the stem 46and reducing head I 45connected therewith floatwithin theaux iliary valve body 41 and thereducing head t .is moved away fromv the conical bore 157 There'is nopressure uponthetire" valve stem' 56at'this time, hence no airescapes'from the tire during the attachment or detachment of my device,thereby preventing anunnecessary; I

airleakage:

"After the to valve head the cap 52 is removed and the tube from theairpump connected with the end of the auxiliary valve body 41, As theair therefrom engages the cap 48 it moves the sameinwardly' until. theunderside thereof engages the outerend of the bushing 43. There is now ji an :open} {space surrounding the conical pe 7 tion of the reducinghead45, andjtheinwardly moving valve stem 56 hasflopened the tire valve;The blast of air, whether-froma hand f or: power operated pump; that werthe chamber 58 isfusual1y reater in volume-than can be-accomm'odatef bythe valve in. the valve head,.53. incoming airjlis, there fore; reducedin volume-before it passes" the a reducing head; :As theairthat'yengagesthe outer endofthe cap 48 firstimoves"the same valvehead53, When the airisadmittedtrom a power pum the alr fp I'QSSlll'G ftigftll'lSii, the cap 48 is constant, while; if th and the reducing headfloats backward and tially asfshownin 2,1aiid also holds open the valvein the chuck;

and then holds, it against th e'Qend ofthe bush; o ing.43,it thereafteronly permits suchvolume P I of to pass through.th'e'notchesf50 "as canfas properly be taken careofby'thefv'alveinithe i' o admitted Nfromahandpump, the pressure is inconsta'nt 1,?

forward] according to Tthje' pressure thereagainst. 'Asthe chuckofj'arpower pumpi's ap o "plied,.the valve'stem inthe chuek'engagesthe;cap 48 and holds it in the position 'substan 1 The opening around thecone of the reduc ing head 45 being" substantial; the admitted oair istakeninto the inner tub eijthrough the lie valve stein 56 without-j"disturbing 'thevalve 16.- :Ifihowever, this'gprfessure, is increased,

' say from twentyefiveito seventy, or-"eig hty pounds the coils ring 159is compressed fconsiderablyim'ore and th :redueing head 45 moves to theposit? on shown nF gure 2, thatf V v isgits closed pos1tion. fT h 1s','less pressure is v I V admitted into the air port 42'because'the cap 418:is seated. :Thisreducesthe inletarea only v permitting 'sufiicient airt6 pass into the air port 42: that can; be'zadmitted into the tire.

When the full blast of; the airjp ressu reg is ad- When the device isattached 'to a high'pressai s-pum the end of-tneeapAs te tacles nertube. In brief, the release valves of they type referred to are notsufficiently active, being too sluggish in their action. While the leakareagradually increases in area the air is still entering the innertube. In my device'I have overcome these and other objections in l thetype of mechanism herein disclosedby providing a structure wherein thevalve moves gradually against a yielding pressure until the pressurearrives at a predetermined pressure, at which time the release valve isat once opened to its fullest extent, thus uncovering the maximum leakarea, through which the excesspressure escapes-atonce, and not" througha progressively increasing area as above described. When the pressurearrives at a predetermined point, say twenty five, forty, fifty, or anyother predetermined num;

ber of pounds determined by the spring 29,

pressure'against the valve 16 is suificient to move it until the end-ofthe trigger 24 engages the stop finger 22 on the spring 21. The loweredge of the valve 16 is now just below the bottom edges'60 of the slot17 and the valve is still closed and no air will escape.v

When the pressure exceeds this predetermined pressure, the triggerisforced beyond the stop finger 22, which yields for the purpose, andcontinues its movement until the a so shoulder 61 contacts with the lip40, as'shown in Figure 4. At this time the release valve is fully openedand the air escapes through the."

uncovered portions of the slot 17 and through the open ngs 27 and 37 anddoes not enterthe inner tube. The arrangement of the plate "34- and therelative sizes of the openings 27 35 and 37 are such that anaudible'whistling. sound is produced, thus announcing that the airpressure has exceeded that indicated by the registered graduations; V

WVhen the admission of air through the valve bushing 43 is discontinued,the spring 29 returns the valve 16 onto its seat, the trigger 24!.rocking upon its pivot 23 passes by the trip finger 22 upon the spring21,which latter yields for the purpose. This trigger may be madeintegral or separate and fastened against relative movement, in whichcase the spring 21 yields a greater distance F than when the triggeryields. .Also the spring 2I projects intoone of th'eslots '17, and

thereby holds the release valve against rota.-;

tionrwThus it willbe seen-that-the operation fro o fthevalveisentirelyautomatic. 1 There are minor changes. and alterations that maybe made' withinfmy' inventio naside "from those herein suggestedfand Iwould therefore} have it understo'od 'that I do not limit myself to theexact construction herein shown anddescribed, but claim all that fallsfairly within the spirit and scope of the" ap pended claims;

+-'" Ha'vin described my jinvention, i I

Patenrisr I -11, In mechanism of the" character d e scribed; avalve bodyf'having 'a' chamber therein; a conical valve seatwithinithe chamher; aplug within'thechamber; avalvewith 7 an inverted" conical face movablymounted within the plug spring means for holding -the?valve upontheconical-valve seat, whereby pressure applied thereto in one directionwill expand the val e" against the l wallfo'f the "spring meansforglimiting the movementof theval'veinone direction, 1

2. a" mechanism of-the" charaeter dsscribed; a, valve f plug having anaxial bore, 'a-slot through one wallthereof opening-into claimj as'newand desire to secure Letters 30 said here; a valvemovably mountediwithin1 the tore ar the plug, having a not therein i an-q azi'yildinglmemberetaliated with the plug that projects through the slot in-Jthejvalveplugand-into the slot in thevalve' thereby'toautoinatically' limitthe movement of ,Etli'e valve, within thelplug when the same is.Qactuated gle'ss than a predeterm ined f pr essure: e a

Ina' mechanism of the charactende "scribed; -a valve plug having a slotthrough lthereof; a valve m'ovably mounted yielding-member connectedwith the plug and "projecting into the "slot in thefvalveto limit "'the"inovement' of thelg'valve within the plug v'vihen thesamefis iactuatedby less than a es- 1 "determined pre surewnd a? trigger yieldingconnected "with the, valve {and during its "movement-engaging saidyielding member. 4. In fa me'chani'smi'of the characten described a'vans-plug 'having'ianiaxial bore, a

a radial, slot ih one wan thereof opening into 3 bore and nb'thtr slotin the exterior wall thereof ,"aj'valve mojvably nounted'within the "bis f t the m e e en st re {andfa'flexible membeu fixed within the last'eiitioned "ofsaidslots in theplug, having a it portion thereon thatprojects through :the

'j first a mentionedofsaid slots in the plug and Y f iito thebp iln g ofthe'valvQ thereby tdil matically'limit'the movementot the valve the plugwhen 'thelsa'm'e 'is actuated by less than a predetermined pressure 1:,5.'-In a linechafiism of the character *de- I chamber in which itmoves'; and supplemental 9 V scribed a valve "plu'gihaving a radial'slot' in e onei-wallthereof and-another slot in the'eex in the plug, aportion. of which projects into an-openingmin the valve, and'therebyholds the. valve against: relative rotation; V and a v trigger connectedwith thevalve, which dur 5 ing itsmovement under pressure greater than apredetermined pressure engages the projecting portion of the flexibleintaltnibll, whichv Mami comprising a,springthatlissubstantially v Vparallelzw la d upnno e of h ax s 5 of thefvglve :w ith a part thereon.that ;-pro

jects into the path of thevalvet In te'stiinonywhereof; I have fixed mysignature.

' mm: N. KELSEY;

yielclsand permits the-.lvalve to-passthereby',

6. In a mechanism of the character described, the combination with avalve-body;

of a conical valveiseat fixed therein; avalve plfigwithin the valve bodya valvest'emtwith,

in the plug;a'valveofyielding materialcone I ;.e n c edewi h the st miwhhewi xp n 'find form. an airtightjoint with the wall. against 1whichjthe valve moveswhen, the valve-lie g s the, o l v e; s a d v pre'sure is applied thereto; means forlimitingthe movement of the valvewithinthe plug away from the coni'cal valve seat; and means-for stopping themovement of the, valve within 7 the plug atapoint short of its 1111movement i v. if the; valvepis actuated by a pressure less 5 than apredetermined pressure.

' 7:. In mechan'sm ofjthe character I i scribed, ,the combination with avalve" body having iabor'e; ofa conical valve seat pro ect-. ing intothe bore of the'valve'bodyjga valve 5 I pl-ngthre adedjwithingthevalveebodyghavinfi ;;1; a bore thereinv substantially concentric-wit the axisof the conical valve seat and a radial slot through, one wall openinginto said bore uponthe conicalvalve seat; aflexible stop avalve movablymounted withinthe bore of the'plug and in one of its positions is seated:je'ctin'g through said slot into the path offa' .partassociated withvthe valve, said valve-beging'outof engagement withtheflexible stop 5finger when the valve ,isseated and nntil. iti Y has movedga limiteddistance when it'len ages [and ,maintainsits contact with the 1 "gerruntilthe pressureg against the valve fisi in H creased sufliciently {tocause the stop finger' yield andipermit further movement ofthe -iivalve; and spring; mai1s within the? valve .b ody thatapplies:substantiallyjconstant pres-V i sure to ,the'valfve in onedirection;

' -8. .In mechanism of,he thaliacterdeseribed, the combinations with afvalfveg-body; of a valve. therein; a spring for moving the valvelto'warditsiseat under a substantially constant I @pressure means: inthe path ofthe valvefor,

"vieldingly limiting its :niovenient after it 5 has been moved off itsseat againstsaidconstant ,pressure, which means holdssaidwalve againstfurther movement until aniincrea sed pressure is applied thereto thatwill-permit I the valve to continue its movement against the r v es e eeP f$$1 me e t e d limit n -me hereunto af-

